


See You Again

by Yadirocks



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:59:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yadirocks/pseuds/Yadirocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about the All Star festivities and, also important, Yadier Molina's 33rd birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	See You Again

The plane ride hadn't taken long. From Pittsburgh to Cincinnati wasn't too far, so Carlos had goofed around for a while, taking selfies on his phone and posting them on Insta. After a while, they were bored. 

Carlos leaned his head back, poking Yadi in the shoulder. "So what do you want to do, old man?"

Yadier rolled his eyes, adjusting his set of headphones. "I don't know, we're stuck on this plane for a good twenty minutes."

Michael peeked his head our from the seat in front of them. "I say we sing 'Happy Birthday' to Yadi until he feels as old as he is."

Yadier put a hand up. "Trust me, I feel 33, having to catch you two and squat for 9 innings reminds me of that every day."

He looked out the window at the clouds, closing his eyes. If he was completely honest, he wanted to take a nap. Holy crap, he was old. 

The next thing he knew, someone was shaking him. Yadier sighed tiredly. "Five more minutes," he mumbled, and almost dozed off again when he was shaken harder, this time followed by a very familiar voice. "Wake up, hermano, you're in Cincy!"

Yadier cracked open his eyes, though his vision was slightly fuzzy. He didn't believe his eyes, so he blinked again, making sure that it was Albert Pujols looking down at him. Immediately, Yadier was awake, leaping up almost too fast and nearly falling back down again.

Then, in a flash, he stood up straight, brushing himself off. Albert smiled at him. "You know, those two young guns you have here were talking about dumping you in the Ohio River."

Yadier sighed, shaking his head. "I'll get them for that," he muttered. He smiled again when he looked back up at Albert. "What brings you here to Cincinnati?"

Albert shrugged. "Didn't you hear? I'm going to hit in the Home Run Derby."

Yadier's eyes widened. "You are? That's amazing!"

They embraced, and Yadier had to admit, this was the best birthday present he could've wished for. Seeing his best friend, the guy who he considered his third brother, was possibly the highlight of the season so far for him. 

Albert pulled away. "Don't think I forgot what today is," he said, a mischievous look in his eyes. 

"Monday?" Yadier asked sarcastically. Albert punched him lightly in the shoulder with a chuckle. "Yep, you haven't changed a bit."

Soon, they arrived at the hotel. Michael was somehow already in his room, bouncing on the bed and making Yadier sigh heavily. Albert could only smile at the young pitcher, who waved as they walked in. "Hey, Al. Yadi, when are we supposed to be there for the Derby?"

"Soon," Yadier answered, laying out his jersey. "Meaning you better stop jumping on the bed and go get dressed."

Michael crossed his arms with a huff, jumping off the bed and nearly crashing into the night stand. Quickly, his cheeks bright red from embarrassment, he made his way out of the room. 

Albert sat on the edge of the bed, already in his uniform. "So, how has my hermano been doing?"

Yadier shrugged. "Same as always, I guess. Just another year older, not like it means anything."

Albert frowned. "I thought you liked celebrating your birthday? Last time I was with you for it, you had been talking about it weeks before."

Yadier didn't even spare him a glance. "Well, the last time you were with me for my birthday, I was 29."

Silence. No noise except for the sound of Yadier unzipping his suitcase and pulling out his baseball pants. Albert stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Yadi, are you okay?"

The catcher looked back at his friend, meeting his eyes for the first time since they were back at the airport. "I'm fine," he answered, giving Albert a small smile. He hoped it was enough to convince him. 

Albert let go, allowing Yadier to get dressed. Once he was, he adjusted his baseball cap in the mirror. Albert stood beside him, messing with the button on his jersey that kept popping. As much as he tried, Yadier couldn't stop staring at the different logo on his friend's hat. In all his memories, for the most part, Albert had been wearing the St. Louis logo. His heart ached for those days, so much that it brought tears to his eyes.

Arms gently pulled him into a hug, and he heard Albert whisper, "I knew you weren't yourself."

Yadier sniffed, trying to stop the tears. He was 33, it wasn't that big a deal. But he couldn't stop thinking about that first day he had walked into the ballpark.

*FLASHBACK*

He stepped out onto the field, wearing his brand new Cardinals jersey. He gazed around at the big field, so much bigger than it looked on TV. Just a kid at 21, he felt out of place among these men. Most of what they all said sounded like nonsense to Yadier, who was embarrassed enough with the fact that he couldn't speak much English.

Bengie had warned him about this, had told him he needed to learn more of English before he was brought up to the majors. Yadier had planned on taking his advice, but then he had gotten the call and soon was being carted to St. Louis to take over for their injured catcher.

Yadier felt very much like he had playing for the amateur team when he was 16. All these men were older, wiser, stronger than him. 

Suddenly, someone yelled at him. Yadier turned to see an older looking man staring right at him. Yadier shrunk as the taller, more intimidating player made his way towards him. Had he done something wrong?

To make it worse, the guy was talking in English, which made it hard for Yadier to understand what was going on or why the man looked angry with him. All he could do was back up, but ended up running right into someone else. The moment he fell, he started yelling, "Perdón, perdón!"

This was a nightmare. He braced himself for more yelling, but was shocked when someone asked, in Spanish, "Why are you crying?"

Yadier opened his eyes to look up at another man, this one with a softer look in his eyes and seemed truly concerned with what was wrong with Yadier. "Well?" the man asked calmly.

Yadier sniffed. "I...I don't speak English," he said with a sob. The man whispered, "Okay, that's no reason to be upset. I'll help you learn how to speak English if you'll stop crying."

Yadier sniffed, trying to calm himself. This was even more embarrassing, because now a crowd had gathered. He struggled to gather himself again. The man smiled at him. "What is your name?"

"Yadier," he said, reaching out a shaking hand. "Yadier Molina."

The man's smile brightened. "Are you Bengie and José's brother?"

Yadier nodded. The man helped him up. "I'm Albert Pujols, but you can call me Al. Sorry about CC, he didn't mean to scare you."

Albert said something in English to the crowd, and they slowly departed. He patted Yadier on the back. "Don't worry," he reassured. "Stick with me, Yadier. I'll teach you English."

*END FLASHBACK*

Albert handed Yadier a tissue, patting his back. "Hermano, what has you so upset?"

Yadier shook his head. "Nothing. It's stupid."

Albert rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it's not, or you wouldn't be crying over it. Did something happen with Wanda or the kids?"

Yadier shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that."

"Then what is it?"

Yadier sniffed, placing his chin on his chest to hide his shame. "I miss you," he whispered. "I miss the days when this was all just a dream come true, to be here, to be at this level. Now, I don't know. It just seems to get harder every year."

Again, silence. Yadier waited anxiously, almost preparing himself for the tease he was going to get for crying over something so stupid. Any second now, Albert was going to start laughing at him, and then would tell him to quit being such a big baby and then that would be the end of this conversation. 

Instead, Albert put an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he whispered. 

Yadier was the one to laugh this time. "For what? You didn't do anything."

Albert made Yadier look him in the eyes. "But I did," he said. "I told you I would always be there for you, and then I just left. I see how upset you are when you see the Angels logo, Yadier. I've known you long enough to know when something is upsetting you, and seeing that logo seems to make you the most sad."

Yadier shook his head. "It isn't the logo, Albert," he said. "It's the fact that one day, this will all be gone, when it seems like just yesterday, I was walking onto that field for the very first time."

He sighed, glancing down at his watch. "We should go. We have to be there in 25 minutes, and Michael is probably in Carlos' room, both of them playing 'The Floor is Lava' game."

Sure enough, when they opened the door to Martinez's room, Michael yelled, "Yadi, don't take another step, or the lava will kill you!"

He was perched on the edge of the bed, Carlos on the other. Yadier crossed his arms. "How do you plan to get across this 'lava' to the door?"

Michael opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. He shrugged. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

Albert chuckled. "I might be able to help." He took a blanket from his room and laid it on the floor. "There, now you have a bridge."

Michael quickly jumped across, as did Carlos. Albert looked at Yadier. "Looks like you've got a couple of kids to take care of yourself."

Yadier sighed. "They sure do act like kids. I swear Yanuell is more grown up than either of them."

Albert raised an eyebrow. "Who says we can't still act like kids?"

He pushed Yadier, yelling, "Catch me if you can!"

Yadier raced after his friend, who was giggling like a lunatic as he ran down the hallway. Yadier ran as fast as he could (which wasn't very fast) and finally managed to corner Albert in the middle of the hall, tackling him to the ground. The longer Yadier and Albert laid there on the carpeted floor of the hotel, laughing their heads off, the more Yadier felt at ease. 

Maybe, he thought, he had just missed being a kid.


End file.
